


In A Heartbeat (Birdflash AU)

by jetpackcrow



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, In A Heartbeat AU, M/M, Mild Language, wally is a soft boi w a soft crush on dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 23:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11679555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetpackcrow/pseuds/jetpackcrow
Summary: Dick paused, glancing up from his book and holding the paper bat in his hands with a firm grip. He examined the area in front of him before turning his back to face where the tree was, where Wally had hidden behind the trunk and was currently trying to calm the frantic beating of his heart. He thought it was pounding so hard against his chest that anyone within a 5 mile range could hear it. And he was right - though not to that extreme.





	In A Heartbeat (Birdflash AU)

**Author's Note:**

> i mean... cmon..... we all saw the physical similarities the two boys had to wally and dick.... not to mention they acted similarly.... this was bound to happen sooner or later (which makes me glad to be the first)

 

 

_[IMPORTANT: this fic is purely based off of[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2REkk9SCRn0&t=15s) amazing animated short film called 'In A Heartbeat'. If you haven't seen it yet, go do that now otherwise this won't make much sense. It came out recently, so I recommend you go check it out and support the creators by simply watching it!]_

 

_-_

 

_Shit! Shit. He's coming... I don't want him to see me._

Wally froze, examining his surroundings for a moment before jumping into the nearest bush, keeping his head ducked as soon as he landed. Then he heard him.

The sound of shoes tapping against the ground in a rhythmic beat grew stronger for just a moment, and then in a flash, it was quiet again. Wally felt his breathing even down and he peered up carefully to see that he had walked past and was already a few feet ahead. Sighing, he found himself climbing up the tree directly in front of him, propping himself onto a branch and leaning against the trunk. 

Wally watched as he walked ever so elegantly towards the entrance of the school they both attended - book in one hand, while the other twirled an origami bat. He found himself smiling at the other's ability to multitask - to be able to concentrate on the story while also making sure he didn't drop the folded paper in his hands that was currently being thrown up a short distance in the air, the way a drummer does with their drumsticks. He was showing off. Wally was sure of it.

Then again, if Wally had the looks and skills of Dick Grayson, he'd show it off too. 

He hadn't realized that he was leaning forward until he felt the absence of bark underneath his knees. Thankfully, he managed to catch himself right before falling, and he pulled himself back up onto the branch. However in doing so, his head thumped loudly against another branch above his, and he let out a grunt in response to the sudden blow to his head. That caught Dick's attention. 

Dick paused, glancing up from his book and holding the paper bat in his hands with a firm grip. He examined the area in front of him before turning his back to face where the tree was, where Wally had hidden behind the trunk and was currently trying to calm the frantic beating of his heart. He thought it was pounding so hard against his chest that anyone within a 5 mile range could hear it. And he was right - though not to that extreme.

"Hello...?" Dick called out softly, taking a step forwards in the direction of the tree.

Wally squeezed his eyelids shut, trying to find a way to breathe normally. He wasn't sure which could be heard more by this point - his fast heartbeat or his ragged breathing. He threw a hand to his chest and gripped it tightly, hoping to muffle the sound of his heartbeat. He was successful in doing so, as Dick only stood for a few more moments before turning and continuing down the pathway. 

Once Dick was out of range, Wally let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His heart was still beating out of his chest, but it had slowed down once Dick started walking away. Wait... rewind - his heart was  _literally_  beating  _out_  of his chest. He pulled his hands slowly away from his shirt to find his  _literal_ heart sitting in his palms - not the actual blood pumping organ encased inside his ribs but what looked like an artificial, typical version of one that was... smiling at him? He tilted his head in confusion, and the heart floated up out of his hands, and went past his head to lean on the branch he was previously on top of. The heart let out a dreamy sigh as it leaned on the bark, staring over at Dick. Wally looked between Dick and his heart and sudden realization made the panic he had just settled out of come striking back. He didn't like the possible outcome of this.

The heart then suddenly appeared at his side, and tugged at his sleeve while pointing in Dick's direction. Wally shook his head, his eyes growing wide.

"Uh, no. I'm not- I'm not going over to him." He whispered to the heart, but the heart just sighed and grabbed his finger, giving it's all into pulling Wally. It successfully pulled him off the tree branch and Wally fell to the ground with a thud. He groaned in pain, rolling over on his side and curling up to grab the heart and make sure it didn't go after Dick. But he soon realized that Dick was the one walking towards him. 

"Hey man, you uh- you alright?" Dick spoke up. Wally looked up where his green eyes meet Dick's piercing blues. Out of his peripheral vision he noticed the now closed book in his left hand, and the paper bat being used as a bookmark. The other boy was leaning down slightly, with an outstretched hand offering Wally help.

He'd never been this close to him. Sure, they'd walk past each other in the hallway where their shoulders would occasionally brush against the other, which always had Wally in a blushing fit. But Dick's never really payed any attention to Wally - at least he doesn't think he has. So for Dick to be standing directly in front of Wally, offering his  _hand_  to help him up - it was a pretty big deal, and his initial embarrassment was quickly forgotten. 

But he had forgotten something else - for a blissful moment Wally had forgotten the whole reason he'd fallen in the first place. His heart. He broke his gaze and looked down at his closed hand to see that it was now empty. He sighed in relief, and looked back up at Dick before panic rose in him again. The heart, which was initially in his clutched hands, was now directly behind Dick's head. It was threatening to poke Dick's shoulder, and before he knew it he was up on his feet, throwing his arms behind Dick's head and catching the heart with a loud clap.

"Ha! Gotcha!" He exclaimed, but when he opened his hands, the heart was nowhere to be seen. It disappeared again. 

It took Wally a full two seconds to process his current position, and when it finally kicked in, it dawned on him just how close Dick's face was to his. Disregard his last statement,  _this_  is the closest he's ever been to  _anyone_. Their lips were a mere inches apart, and Wally was certain Dick could see the blood rushing to his cheeks this up close. Wally's arms still lay around Dick's neck, but he couldn't bring himself to remove them. Wally was wide-eyed, frozen on the spot - and quite frankly, so was Dick. 

Wally couldn't think of his next move, of what excuse he could use for suddenly invading Dick's space. His focus blurred and he used what little control he had to keep his eyes from trailing down to Dick's lips.  _Dick's stupid lips. Dick's stupid, perfect lips._ He wasn't sure how long the two stood like that, but he was sure the distance had begun to grow smaller. Whether gravity had begun to pull them closer together, or his heart had reappeared behind him to push him forward, he couldn't tell. The only thing he knew was that Dick didn't seem to resist it. 

And then, all of a sudden, Wally was pulled from that trance. Reality hit him in the face like a brick, and he stumbled backwards as the distant sound of laughter approaching filled his ears. As soon as he did so, a group of teens turned the corner, amidst conversation and too busy to notice the flustered Wally. They did notice, however, their fellow classmate.  

"Oh, hey Richard!" One of them spoke out.

"Oh, uh, hey." Dick said nervously, waving his hand. Once the group had passed, Dick awkwardly turned back to Wally who had stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking down at his shoes as he shifted from one foot to the other. 

"It was a, um, a- a bug. Behind your head. Mosquito, actually. I killed it."

"Oh... Right. Uh, thank you but I, um-" Dick paused to clear his throat. "I should, uh, get back to class." Dick nodded slowly, and it seemed he was telling himself that rather than Wally. "I'll see you around, I guess?"

Wally didn't look up, he was too ashamed to. Instead he nodded his head. "Yeah, uh, see ya." He mumbled quickly, distracting himself with a small pebble he had started pushing around with his foot. After another agonizingly long second, Dick picked up the book he had dropped and turned away, walking back in the direction he came from. 

Wally waited another second or so before looking up at Dick sadly as he walked away.  _Great_ , he thought,  _there goes your attempt of at **least**  forming a friendship with the guy. He probably thinks you're the biggest weirdo on the planet. Ugh, stupid Wally._  _Stupid heart. Stupi- holy shit._  

Wally looked up again, scanning around him to see if his heart had been anywhere near him. Then he felt a light tapping on his shoulder, and turned only to be face to face with his heart, which was currently waving a hello at him. 

Wally gasped. "Why you little-" He reached out both hands in attempt to grab the heart, only for it to disappear again. He looked down before turning back around to see where it was, only to spot it trailing behind Dick and entering the building as the doors closed.

"NO!" Wally felt an immense panic rise in him, one worse than before, and sped towards the entrance. He pulled the door open and skidded to a stop as he stared in horror at the sight in front of him. 

There, on the ground, was Dick, and right next to him was his heart which was rubbing itself happily on Dick's cheek, almost like a dog. Wally's real heart pounded against his rib cage, and he practically jumped forward and grabbed the heart, prying it away from Dick. It was no use when the heart had grabbed onto Dick's hand, ultimately resulting in the two holding Wally's heart like a game of Tug of War. 

That's when he felt his stomach drop. His eyes met Dick's and for a second it seemed like nothing else mattered, and then the voices filled his ears. The voices of a crowded hallway, of a dozen students beginning to surround the boys, murmuring statements of " _He's gay?!_ " and " _Get a load of that - Wally West is in love with Richard Grayson._ " 

He felt his whole world falling apart. The world he had once kept closeted, hidden from a toxic society, was suddenly unleashed, and he thought standing there completely naked would've felt less revealing. And then, just as he felt every organ drop to the pit of his stomach, it all came back up again, and it formed a lump in his throat he couldn't swallow down even if he tried.

The voices of the students around him grew louder, and when he looked back at Dick hoping to find the little amount of hope he needed in his eyes, Dick's gaze had shifted to the ground, unsure of how to react to he situation.  

Thus came the first crack in his heart. The room was too loud, and the sound became unbearable for him, so he tugged at his heart until it had completely broken in half, and he ran out, leaving Dick on the ground with the other half of his heart. 

 

-

 

Classes had already started, but Wally couldn't bring himself to walk back inside that retched place. He stayed sat on the ground, leaning against the tree he had previously climbed on as he watched Dick. The tree where he nearly got caught staring, where his heart had jumped out and caused all the trouble of that day.  _Stupid tree. Stupid heart. Stupid Wally._

He'd been crying for so long his tears had dried out, and he just sat on the ground with his arms wrapped around his legs, held closely to his chest. He leaned his head on his knees, sniffling when he did so. He thought back to what happened in the hallway, to the nasty looks everyone had given them. He thought of the look on Dick's face, a look of  _shame_. He wouldn't be surprised if Dick had thrown out the other half of the heart now, laughing along with his friends at how ridiculous the whole thing was. His grip around his half tightened before throwing it to the side. He didn't notice he was crying again until another hot tear fell down his face, and he let out a muffled sob against his arm as he buried his head in his knees, hugging his legs tighter around him. 

"I believe this belongs to you." A voice spoke, and Wally's sobs halted for a moment, before looking up and meeting Dick's eyes again. His own eyes widened and he sat up straight, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his tears. As he did so, Dick knelt down in front of him, placing his hand in front of Wally which held the second half of his broken heart. 

Wally had no words. He was shocked Dick had even returned, but also still too upset to form complete sentences, so the most he could muster out was "I- I don't-" and then held his hands up to show Dick he didn't have it with him, hoping he understood. Dick's face softened for a moment, and he looked around before spotting the other half laying on the ground just a few feet away. Dick stood momentarily, walking over to the other half of Wally's heart and grabbing it from the ground before bringing it back to him. He sat down directly next to Wally, leaning his back against the trunk. 

"Here. Hold out your hands." Wally did so without a word, and Dick placed the two halves on Wally's palms. Then, he placed his own hands underneath Wally's and pushed the pieces closer together, which had quickly gone back to being a whole. The heart smiled up at the two boys again before floating up and behind them. A small smile grew on both boy's faces as Wally's hands remained in Dick's. Wally slowly looked up at the other boy, a soft blush forming on his cheeks. He was a little bit relieved to see he wasn't the only one blushing. 

"So, um..." Dick pulled his hands away to play with the hem of his t-shirt and he stared at his lap for a brief second before looking back up at Wally. "I'm really sorry about what happened back there. When I saw the heart was actually yours, I- I didn't know how to react... to be honest, I kind of froze until you stormed out."

Wally looked backed down at his lap, playing with his own shirt. "Oh, um, it's fine. Don't worry about it, I'll get over it." He said softly. 

"No, seriously." Dick placed a hand on Wally's, and he stopped fidgeting for a moment to stare at Dick's hand before looking back up at him. "I know exactly how you're feeling right now, _trust me_. I'm really,  _really_  sorry." 

Wally didn't have a response, instead he looked back down at Dick's hand on his own. A voice in the back of his mind was telling him to grab his hand, and without hesitation he wrapped his hand around Dick's and squeezed tightly. 

They sat like that for a moment, their shoulders leaning against each other and their fingers intertwined. It was only until Dick spoke up that the silence broke.

"I'm Dick, by the way. Dick Grayson." 

Wally looked up at Dick, unable to push away the smile on his face. "Wally West." 

"Nice to meet you, Wally West." Dick chuckled softly, his cheeks tinted a light shade of red. 

"The pleasure's mine, Dick Grayson."

-

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fic ive written in a long while! sorry if it's rusty. im not exactly writing fanfics anymore but this is an idea i couldn't let go to waste. i hope u guys enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing it. if you wish to talk to me about anything you please, check out my tumblr: nygmasriddler


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